Crafty affair Traditional materials and techniques, rooted in the climate and landscape of Japan, have been used by skilled artisans to create objects of daily utility, as also art works, richly imbued with the creativity of craft artists. The mutual influence of artisans and artists has, furthermore, contributed to the depth and high quality of Japanese crafts. Hosted by the Consulate-General of Japan, Calcutta, in cooperation with the Indo-Japan Welfare and Cultural Association, Handcrafted Form: Traditions and Techniques, the ongoing exhibition of Japanese handicrafts and art works, showcases these two groups of craft items as a testimony to the multiplicity and richness of Japanese crafts. On display are wood and bamboo crafts, glassware, metalwork, writing implements, and so on, hand-made with traditional materials, using traditional techniques. Representative objects, designated as ?Traditional Craft Objects? under the Japanese government?s Traditional Manufactured Goods Law, form the core of the exhibition, supplemented by works of craft artists. Event: An exhibition of Japanese handicrafts and art works When: Till December 26, 2 pm - 8 pm Where: Calcutta Information Centre, Ground floor

art

Till December 21 at Chitrakoot Art Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: Paintings by Manju Sharma. Till December 21 at Gallery Katayun, 4A Auckland Square; 2 pm - 7 pm: A Passion for the Pencil, a solo exhibition by Mrinal Mandal. Till December 23 at ITC Sonar Bangla Art Gallery; 2 pm - 9 pm: A show of Paban Das Baul?s paintings. Till December 23 at New Sabhaghar, Swabhumi; 2 pm - 8 pm: Vikalp Art Shop presents Starburst: Miracle in Small Canvas by eminent artists. Till December 24 at G.C. Laha Centenary Fine Arts Gallery, 7 Chittaranjan Avenue; 1 pm - 7 pm: An exhibition of the works of Canvas Artists? Circle members. Till December 24 at Gallery Sanskriti, 5C Alipore Park Road; 11 am - 8 pm: Evea ? Paintings by Shipra Bhattacharjee. Till December 31 (except Monday) at Aakriti Art Gallery, 1st floor Orbit Enclave, 12/3A Picasso Bithi, Hungerford Street; 3 pm - 7 pm: Works of G.C. Chakravarty, Gopal Ghose, Jamini Roy, K.H. Ara, N.S. Bendre, Nirmal Bhadra and Sailoz Mookherjea.

DRAMA

Till December 25 at Academy of Fine Arts: Nandikar?s 22nd National Theatre Festival. Today at 6 pm: Cadaverous (Bengali; dir: Debesh Chattopadhyay) by Sansriti, Calcutta, and Ghumayee (Dogri; dir: Balwant Thakur) by Natrang, Jammu. December 23 at Tapan Theatre; 6.30 pm: Theatron presents Shey. Direction: Saswati Biswas.

PERFORMING ARTS

December 21 - 24 at Kala Mandir; 6.30 pm: Sangit Kala Mandir?s Annual Utsav ?05 features bhajans/ghazals by Hari Haran on 21st; fusion/instrumental music by Louis Banks, Rahul Sharma, Taufique Qureshi and Abhijeet Banerjee on 22nd; Hindi thriller/comedy Chal Baaz by Paresh Rawal and his group on 23rd and 24th. December 21 at Swabhumi; 5.30 pm: An evening of Tagore songs presented by Rabi-Angik. Featuring chorus by the members of Rabi-Angik and solo recitals by Biva Sengupta, Shyamasree Dasgupta, Rajasree Bhattacharya, Chandrabali Rudra Dutta, Keya Majumdar, Achina Bhattacharya Kundu, Manisha Mukherjee, Sathi Dasgupta, Sikha Chatterjee, Gouri Mukherjee, Subarna Bhattacharya, Mriganka Sarkar, Shantanu Dasgupta, Suprabhat Mukherjee and Arnab Roy. December 23 at G.D. Birla Sabhagar; 6.30 pm: On the occasion of Pandit Vijay Kichlu?s 75th birth anniversary, Devgandharva hosts classical recitals by Kishan Maharaj, Girija Devi, Birju Maharaj, Shiv Kumar Sharma and Anindo Chatterjee. Also, release of the album of first lot of education series on Indian classical music prepared by Vijay Kichlu.

EXHIBITIon

Till January 7 (except Mondays) at Victoria Memorial Hall; 10 am - 4 pm: The French Embassy in India, the French Association, Calcutta and the Victoria Memorial present the exhibition, enkibilalinindia. Till December 31 at Artisana, 13 Chowringhee Terrace (1st floor); 10 am - 7.30 pm: Crafts Council of West Bengal presents Burra Din, an exhibition featuring Christmas decorations, lamps, gift items, household items, artifacts and jewellery. Till December 24 at Sasha, 27 Mirza Ghalib Street; 10 am - 7 pm: Sasha Christmas Festival showcases pasmina & lambs wool shawls, stoles, woollen items, bamboo & madur grass products, silver tribal jewellery, candles, embroidered Christmas cards and hangings. Till December 26 at Soumya?s Creation, 57/9 Ballygunge Circular Road; 10 am - 7 pm: An exhibition to celebrate Calcutta?s brief winters, titled Dress-up December, offers home accessories including ceramic ware, durries, framed pictures and candles, and wearables including costume jewellery, T-shirts, bags, chanderi and cotton dresses.

TALK

December 21 at Max Mueller Bhavan; 6 pm: ?Adoor in Conversation?, hosted as part of A Retrospective of Films by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. December 21 at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Vivekananda Hall; 6.15 pm: Swami Prabhananda will speak in Bengali on Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Till December 31 at Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre, 36C S.P. Mukherjee Road; 2 pm - 7 pm: Neon Tigers ? Asian Mega Cities, and Heimat ? Contemporary German Landscapes: An exhibition of photographs by Peter Bialobrzeski.

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All those who wish events to be included in this column should write not less than a week ahead to:

Time out, The Telegraph, 6, Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta-700 001;
Fax: 2234-8244